Johnson & Johnson Makes Historic Commitment to Remove Cancer-Causing Chemicals

Historical commitment is being made by J&J and other cosmetic companies to remove cancer causing chemicals. The makers of Aveeno, Neutrogena and Johnson’s Baby Shampoo announced their removal of carcinogens and other toxic chemicals from their products. What is carcinogen, one might ask? Carcinogen is any substance that is involved directly in causing the cancer. Some carcinogen chemicals don’t affect the DNA directly but they can lead to other ways to causing cancer. According to cancer.org,” they may cause cells to divide at a faster than normal rate, which could increase the chances that DNA changes will occur. The risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including how they are exposed to a carcinogen, the length and intensity of the exposure, and the person's genetic makeup.”

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a national coalition organization of 175 nonprofit organizations working together to protect the health of consumers and lead the way towards the victory by pressuring companies of removing the health hazardous chemicals from their products. The nonprofit organization has lead for the J&J and other companies to commit to their products safety by removing dangerous chemicals, and the campaign is hoping others will follow J&J’s footsteps.

J&J has confirmed to the Campaign that it has set an internal target date of reformulating adult products by the end of 2015, and it will use safe alternatives when reformulating. It will:

·         Reduce 1,4 dioxane to a maximum of 10 parts per million in adult products;

·         Phase out formaldehyde-releasers in adult products;

·         Limit parabens in adult products to methyl-, ethyl- and propyl-;

·         Complete phase-out of triclosan from all products;

·         Phase out Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) from all products (no other phthalates are currently used);

·         Phase out polycyclic musks, animal derived ingredients, tagates, rose crystal and diacetyl from fragrances.

 Sources:

http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=1054

http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/GeneralInformationaboutCarcinogens/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens